Grave digging machine



July 5, 1932. c. E. HElM ET AL GRAVE DIGGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l Inventors Clarence E. Hez'm Harry L Hm July 5,1932. c. E. HElM ET AL 1,866,037

GRAVE DIGGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Invenipr; Clarence E. Hez'm X Hmvy LHmzd'y A tlomey July 5, 1932. Q E ET AL 1,866,037

GRAVE DIGGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Invenior: Clarence E Him X Ha rry LHand' A llorney July 5, 1932. c. E. HElM ET AL GRAVE DIGGING MACHINE Fild Nov. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Clarence He 'm X Harry [T -Hana? A llomey July 5, 1932. c. E. HEIM ET AL 1,866,037

GRAVE DIGGING MACHINE- 7 Filed Nov. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor;

Clarence Z7. Hez'm 5 Harry L Handy f;

I Allomey Patented July 5, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLARENCE EDWARD HEIM AND HARRY LYMON HANDY, OF SHERMAN, TEXAS GRAVE DIGGING MACHINE Application filed November 25, 1930. Serial No. 498,154.

This invention appertains to new and useful improvements in machinery for digging graves, and the principal object of the 1n vention is to provide a machine whereby a r grave can be dug quickly and obviously at low cost.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a digging apparatus, whlch can be readily moved from place to place 0 without-difficulty.

These and various other objects and advantages of the invention will readily become apparent to the reader of the following specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevational View of the machine.

Fig. 2 represents an end elevational view of the'machine.

Fig. 3 represents a top plan view of the machine.

Fig. 4 represents a horizontal sectional View taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 represents a fragmentary detailed sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 represents a fragmentary detalled sectional view disclosing one corner structure of the machine.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like parts, it can be seen that the machine includes a frame made up of the posts 5, one at each corner of the frame, these posts being connected together by the upper and lower bars 6 and 7 respectively. At each end of the frame is a transversely extending bar 8 for spacing and supporting the guide members, which include pairs of elongated members or guiding bars 99 in spaced parallel relation between which slides the block or carriage 10 through which the screws 1111 are threaded.

These screws have one of their ends journalled in the cross bar 8 at one end of the frame while the remaining ends of the screws extend through the other bar 8 and are equipped with bevelled gears 12 for mesh with cooperating beveled gears 13 on the shaft 14, which by-way of the gears 15 and 16 respectively, is driven by the shaft 17.

The gears 18 and 19 between the shaft 20 and the shaft 17 connect these shafts together, so that the operation of the hand crank 21, will permit operation of the screws 11-11 for feeding the block or carriage 10.

This block or carriage 10 supports the vertical walls 22-22 which are arranged in parallel relation. The upper and lower ends of each wall 22 supports sprocket wheels 23, and

endless chains 2424 are trained over these sprocket wheels. Between these chains 24 24 are secured the hingedly connected plates 25 on which the toothed buckets 26 are arranged in zig-zagged order. By having the buckets arranged in this manner, a relatively wide area can be covered in the digging op most pair of members 9, and adjacent one end of the frame are bearings 32, in which the shaft 33 is journaled, and a sprocket 34 is attached to one end of said shaft.

Another shaft 35 is located in a similar manner upon the said members 9 at the opposite end of the frame and is equipped with a sprocket wheel 36 and, as can be seen in Fig. 1, the chain 30 is trained overthese sprockets 34 and 36. The shaft 35 also has a sprocket 37 thereon for mesh with a chain 38. A bracket 39 on one of the uppermost sildeway members 9 carries the idler rollers 40-40 for urging the chain 38 against the engaged by the chain 38, the sprocket 36 on the shaft 35 and the chain 30 which imparts movement to the upper shaft 27 which operates the endless bucket carrying chains of the digger, while the crank 21 serves to shift the dig er from one end of the frame to the other. lhe means for elevating and lowering the digger consists in providing angle irons 45 at the corners of the frames. The ends of the angle iroumembers 45 are closed as at 46, and the ends of screw shafts 47 are journalled in said closed ends, said shafts passing through threaded holes in blocks 48 which are guided for vertical movement in the members 45 as shown in Fig. 6.

As is clearly shown in the drawings, these blocks 48 support the cross members or bars 8 to which the slideway members 99 are connected. To the upper end of each screw 47 is keyed or otherwise secured a sprocket 49 over which the continuous chain 50 is trained. As is shown in Fig. 1, one of these screws 47 is provided with a crank 51, so that when the same is rotated, the chain 50 will be operated and this in turn will serve to 1'0- tate the screws 47 for uniformly shifting the blocks 48 and correspondingly moving the digger upwardly or downwardly.

As will be seen the guiding bars 9 constitute a track for the block 10 which acts as acarriage and the walls 22 carried by the carriage or block form a frame for supporting the shafts 27 and 28 to which the sprockets 23 are connected over which the bucket carrying chains 24 pass.

\Vhile the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, size and materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter, and it is also to be understood, that any suitable hopper and conveyor may be employed in conjunction with the digger mechanism for conveying away the earth as it is removed.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim as new is 1. A grave digging apparatus comprising a supporting frame, a number of pairs of guiding bars constituting a track structure horizontally arranged and supported for vertical movement in the frame, means for moving said track structure, a carriage supported for sliding movement in the track structure, means for moving said carriage horizontally in the track structure, a vertically arranged frame carried by the carriage, an endless bucket carrying member movably supported by the last-mentioned frame, and means for actuating said bucket-carrying member.

2. A grave digging apparatus comprising a supporting frame, a number of pairs of guiding bars constituting a track structure horizontally arranged and supported for vertical movement in the frame, means for moving said track structure, a carriage supported for sliding movement in the track structure, means for moving said carriage horizontally in the track structure, a vertically arranged frame carried by the carriage, an endless bucket carrying member movably supported by the last-mentioned frame, means for actuating said bucket-carrying member, the buckets on said member being arranged in staggered relation.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a number of pairs of guiding bars constituting a track structure horizontally arranged in the frame and supported for vertical movement, manually operated means for moving the track structure, a carriage supported for horizontal movement on the track structure, manually operated means for moving the carriage, a vertically arranged frame carried by the carriage, an endless bucket carrying member carried by said vertical frame, a motor driven means for actuating said bucket carrying member.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a number of pairs of guiding bars constituting a track structure horizontally arranged in the frame and supported for vertical movement, manually operated means for moving the track structure, a carriage supported for horizontal movement on the track structure, manually operated means for moving the carriage, a vertically arranged frame carried by the carriage, an endless bucket carrying member carried by said vertical frame, a motor driven means for actuating said bucket carrying member, such means comprising a shaft at the upper end of the vertical frame for operating the bucket carrying member, a sprocket on the shaft, an endless chain passing over the sprocket, idle sprockets on a part of the supporting frame over which the chain passes, sprockets at the ends of the track structure over which the chain passes, and motor driven means for rotating one of the last-mentioned sprockets.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

CLARENCE EDWARD HEIM. HARRY LYMON HANDY. 

